


。°。✼ Liberation Day Eve ✼ 。°。

by RoninReverie



Series: Jacen Syndulla Stories [6]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Christmas, Cute, One Shot, Some Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 00:19:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17151758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoninReverie/pseuds/RoninReverie
Summary: It was the night before Liberation Day, and all through the base, the children were hoping that Luke shows his face.  Morale had been low, the kids all together,  made up a small story to make everything better. The Force mysterious, Luke a great master, would bring them all toys to make up for disaster.  But Ben Solo was upset, this story a lie, it was up to young Jacen and Poe to make everything right.





	。°。✼ Liberation Day Eve ✼ 。°。

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays all! Thanks for reading!

“I can't believe your mom got you that spare part you needed for the AvA-614! I thought she hated that bike?”

“Oh she does, but it was a gift from big sis. Sabine’s been rebuilding this baby since she started living on Lothal, but Mom said I couldn't actually ride it until I turned thirteen.”

“You think she's been hoarding it?”

“Not a chance. I know every inch of the _Ghost_. There's no way she could have kept this piece hidden from me for so long.”

“I still can't believe she even found it!” Poe clapped. “We slap this puppy on the speeder and we’ll be racing everywhere from here to Dantooine!”

“It’s not an X-Wing, but it's a start, I guess?”

“It’s enough. With the speeder we can finally decide who the better racer is?” Poe smiled smugly.

“On the ground at least?” Jacen grinned. “Which is going to be me of course.”

“See you said _you_ , but I think you actually meant _me_.”

“In your dreams, Dameron. There’s no way your dad is going to let you on this thing till you hit puberty, right Clank?”

Jacen’s refurbished ID-10 seeker droid, Clank, booped affirmatively from its hover spot in the air.

“Oh, that droid is biased!” He said, swatting at the flying disk-shaped droid. “And what Pop doesn't know won't hurt him…”

Jacen grinned wider.

“I’m starting to think I’m a bad influence on you, Poe.”

“Oh please, you're like three years older, that's nothing!”

Jacen shot his friend a look and leaned his elbow on top of his head.

“What was that? I didn't hear you from all the way down there!”

“How can you not with those big ears!?” Poe shoved.

“Baby face…” Jacen shoved back.

“Grass stain!”

“Half-pint!”

They laughed and punched at each other jokingly until another growing noise caught their attention and both paused.

“Hey, Poe... do you hear that?”

“The sound of a dozen angry kids?” He listened for it, ears searching before he pointed towards a location. “It’s coming from over here. Come on.”

They rushed off to see the mob of kids, three of them rolling around in the dirt in a mosh of angry pint-sized fury.

“Whoa!” Jacen called. “Hey! Hey, break it up!”

Jacen, Poe, and Clank started pulling kids apart while the others clattered into one another trying to figure out if they wanted to stick around and watch or run away and hide. 

“Let me go!”

“Hey, I know you...” Jacen lifted the feistiest of the kids high off the ground by the back of his vest and waited for him to stop thrashing about. “You’re Miss Leia’s kid… Ben, right?”

“What’s this all about?” Poe asked.

They all grew unsettling quiet.

“Oh, now no one has anything to say? Come on, this isn't how this works. I talk, you talk… someone better spit it out or we're going straight to your parents.”

“Don’t think we can't find them, either...” Jacen nodded. “I’ve babysat enough of you to be able to find them all faster than you can say "Krayt spit". Now talk.”

He set Ben back to the ground, but made sure the fiery seven year old was still facing his direction.

“Especially you…”

“They don't know what they're talking about!” Ben pointed… loudly Jacen might add if he weren't busy ringing his ear out with his pinky finger.

“Nuh uh!” one bellowed back.

“Easy… What’s the big deal here, kids? Who said what?”

“These guys were spreading rumours about Uncle Luke!” Ben growled, wiping the mud of off his face before continuing. “Toby said that on Liberation Day Eve, Luke Skywalker will show up to all the good little kids houses to give them presents!”

The older boys blinked.

“And why’s that such a bad thing?”

“Because,” Ben frowned. “Luke is too busy to go to all these random kids houses with gifts when he doesn't even have time to see me anymore! If Luke were coming here to give gifts to anybody tonight, it would be me!”

“Liar!” one of the girls pointed sourly. “You just want to hog all the toys to yourself, Ben!”

“You don't even need toys!” another accused. “Your parents are rich and famous!”

“You probably get everything you want!”

Ben growled and took a step forward, an unusually high tension for someone this age, but Jacen could vaguely sense the anger lingering around the kid's mind.

Ben was Force sensitive, and strong with it too. Even someone like Jacen who considered himself pretty weak in the Force could sense that much, and knowing what he knew about the Force, Jacen also knew that this much anger, if left unchecked, could lead someone as small and as innocent as Ben into the Dark Side when he got older.

He needed to keep an eye on him, and make sure his memory of today stayed positive and helpful rather aggressive and bleak.

His tanned and green hand came up to halt Ben’s next assault with one gentle grasp to the shoulder.

“Easy killer!” He warned mockingly. “Now Ben, Toby, all you kids… you shouldn't fight. I know things have been stressful lately with our moms and dads running around. Things have been a bit tight and tense, but we have to try and be good and keep out of trouble, for their sakes.”

“Who's calling the Vader mask, black?” Poe muttered accusingly.

Jacen shot him a look.

“Okay… so… take me and Poe, for instance. We tried to kill each other the first day we met, but now we’re friends. For reasons beyond my comprehension...”

“Rivals…" He smirked.  "But whatever. Jacen has a point. Now everyone say sorry and get out of here before we rat you out to the grown-ups!”

Clank blipped from above and all the kids looked to one another before saying meak apologies and running off in different directions.

“Up bup bup…” Jacen reached out for Ben’s vest again and pulled him back. “Not you, Solo. You and I aren't done here.”

He shook him off and glared.

“I said sorry! What else do you want?”

“You’re waaaay too young to be this angry, kid…” Poe teased.

“He’s literally three years younger than you,” Jacen mocked smugly. “I thought that was nothing?”

“Shut up…” Poe blushed.

Jacen chuckled and then leaned down to meet the younger boy eye to eye now. 

“Look Ben… you can't let other kids get to you like that.”

“But they're wrong! Luke isn't like that and the Force isn't some magic to give them presents!”

“And you know that, and I know that, but those kids have had it rough lately. We had to evacuate that last base pretty quickly. A lot of them had to leave everything they owned behind."

“My mom might've mentioned something like that...” he frowned, kicking at the dirt now, his eyes now embarrassed and low.

“Right… so you can kind of see why they might all get their hopes up in some made up fairy tale then, don't you?”

“I guess…” he admitted reluctantly, the pouty look on his face enough to make his chubby cheeks puff out.

“Where are you going with this, Jace?”

He smiled and got that look in his eye.

“Boys, listen up… I've got a plan.”

 

* * *

 

“This is so stupid…”

“This wig is itchy!”

“What do you expect? It’s Togorian fur?”

“Don’t you think H'sishi will be mad we broke into her quarters?” Poe whispered.

“It’s not like we cut her fur off!” Jacen argued back quietly. “She sheds like crazy! We did her a favor!”

Neither Poe nor Ben looked convinced, and if Clank had expressions, he'd probably look the same.

“Whatever guys. Now did you bring the old toys?”

Poe and Ben both held up bags of their old toys and whatever else they could scrounge around the base on such short and secret notice.”

Jacen lifted his as well, a few freshly sewn tooka dolls in there that he and Clank had time to make before nightfall.

 _Thank you Aya Cham for teaching me how to sew that one visit to Ryloth_ , he thought.

“Good.” Jacen nodded. “Now just like we planned. Let's sneak in and give these other kids the best Liberation Day ever! Any questions?”

“Why am I here?” Ben asked.

“Because Luke is your uncle and I’d think you want to help your peers who are less fortunate out?”

Ben furrowed his brows.

“Because it's the right thing to do!” Jacen sighed with an exasperated roll of his eyes.

“And we needed your mom's all access card key to break into all these rooms.”

He rubbed his ear sheepishly and nodded. “Yeah, that too… Now… we're going to break into teams. Clank and Poe and Ben and me. We’ll meet back on the Ghost when we're done. My mom is in a late meeting and took Chopper with her, so its the best place.”

“Okay,” Poe said. “But I have a question…”

“Alright, fine, what is it!?”

“Why are we wearing the blonde wigs?”

They all scratched at their heads and Jacen sighed.

“The kids think Luke’s the one doing this, then we gotta look like Luke!”

“Yeah but…”

“No more questions!” Jacen blurted. “Operation “Gift Givers" is a go!”

“That's a horrible code name…”

“No it's not,” Jacen whispered. “Move out!”

Clank whirred.

“It is pretty bad…” Ben nodded.

“Well how about next time one of you can pick the names? Okay? Now get going! Come on, Ben!”

They chuckled and followed him into the night.

 

* * *

 

“That's everyone!” Jacen said, high fiving the other three as they revealed their empty toy bags.

“That felt pretty good..." Ben smiled.

“Now what?” Poe asked.

“Now we all keep quiet and get back to our beds before our parents notice we were gone. Tomorrow we pretend like nothing happened.”

“Really?”

He nodded.

“You guys are welcome to spend the night here, but I don't know if Miss Leia will be okay without asking, Ben.”

“We could always sneak him back into his room?”

“I don't want my mommy to know I snuck out,” Ben said.

“Too late…”

The boys and their droid jumped and turned around where three figures came into view at the table as the lights shot on suddenly.

“Mom!?”

“Dad!?”

“Mommy!”

All were stunned silent, the room waiting in cold silence as each child met the unhappy eyes of each parent. 

“Did you really think we wouldn't notice what you three were up to?” Hera started, her brow lifted in that way that almost always guaranteed a grounding in Jacen’s future.

“I’ll be taking back my pass now, Ben...” Leia held out her hand, her tone soft but somehow still terrifying.

He handed it over without question. 

“What were you three thinking?” Kes demanded. “And dragging little Ben into it! ”

“It was my plan, Mr. Dameron.” Jacen stepped forward. “Don't punish Ben or Poe, they just did what I told them.”

Hera smirked, the edge in the room suddenly losing its menace. 

“Punish you?”

“What makes you think we're going to punish you?” Leia added.

“Kids, if you just told us what you were doing, we might've been able to help.”

The women nodded.

“Kes is right… we’ve been really distracted lately but we never meant to ignore you kids so badly that everyone would look to fairy tales to make things better.”

Hera nodded.

“What you three did was admirable... risky... but... well... We're proud of you anyway. So... that's why we wanted to do a little something nice for you in return for all the hard work.”

They each stood and offered out their gifts.

“No way!” Jacen gasped. “This is the new S-Coil Stabilizer from the 923 edition super speeders! These aren't even on the market yet! Mom, how did you even get this?!”

“Oh, I have my ways,” Hera grinned. “Your father always did have a lot of fun on that Joben of his. Make sure your bike can keep up with the rest of you, Jacen. I know you have what it takes.”

He smiled and nearly hurdled the table to hug her.

“You're the best, Mom!”

Poe, meanwhile, was still lost in his own gift, holding it close with his two small hands, completely ignoring everyone else.

“Mom's helmet?” He asked softly, rubbing his fingers along the slick material.

Kes smiled gently, his eyes a blend of pain and pride as he snatched it and placed it atop his son's head.

“She’d want you to have it, Poe. I know how much trouble you kids like to get into. Think of it like your mother always there to protect you no matter what dangers come your way.”

He sniffed, but barrelled into his father for a tight hug, Kes letting out a small _“oof!”_ as the hard helmet slammed into his gut, but he didn't mind too much when he wrapped his arms around his son and started hugging back. 

At the same time as the others, Leia only held out her hand and escorted Ben off the ship. For a second he thought his gift might be so big that it couldn't even fit into the hangar, but as their journey grew longer, he'd started to recognize the path to his room and frowned.

“Mom?”

She smiled, rubbed his hair gently, kissed his forehead, and sent him through the door without a word.

 _Had he done something wrong?_ He wondered. _Why the silent treatment? Why was he the only one without a gift?_

He was glad the other kids would wake up happy, he truly was… and he didn't need a gift to feel good about what he, Jacen, and Poe had done,  but even so, he still wished he could have seen his uncle Luke… and not as some magical gift giver version of himself, but the real one. The one who came around just for him.

About to flip the covers on his bed to go to sleep, Ben suddenly sensed the figure in standing in the window. He was about to yell... about to cry out for his mom, but the shadow only smiled at him and a moment later, Ben both saw and sensed clearly who it was.

“Uncle Luke?”

“Long time no see, Ben.”

His voice was warm and kind just like Ben remembered. Just like the sun…

“Wow! You're getting big!”

The boy ran forward and tackled his uncle in a big hug.

Luke laughed.

“So what's this I hear about you pretending to be me and leaving gifts for your friends?”

He rubbed his face deeper into Luke’s tunic.

“Long story!” he giggled.

Luke stood, picked his nephew up of the ground and sat him on the side of the bed right next to his robot hand.

“Well I'm not going anywhere. Tell me all about it, and I’ll tell you about something of my own. Something no one else knows about yet, not even your parents.”

Eyes wide in seven year old wonder, Ben leaned forward eagerly.

“Ooh! What is it? What? What!?”

Luke cracked a smile and leaned forward to whisper.

“I’m thinking of opening up a Jedi school…”

“WOW!!!”

“Shhhh… It's still a secret, remember?”

Ben nodded.

“I won't tell a single person Uncle Luke!”

He laughed again and rubbed his dark hair around in his flesh hand.

“Well now it's your turn. So, tell me all about Luke Skywalker and Liberation Day Eve…”


End file.
